Sketches
by sparksflying
Summary: One-shot of Cinna/Effie. Cinna has a gay past, but Effie has some kind of feeling for him. Another one-shot pairing chosen by luck of the draw.


**Sketches**

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My second year making garments for the Hunger Games and I know that I should be concentrating on the brilliant works of art I'm expected to design, but my mind is on other things. Katniss and Peeta were hits. I knew they would be. Katniss has natural beauty and Peeta is attractive as well. Together they make a great team. Now I'm designing for them again. Even though this is a sad statement in itself, with them going to the arena once again, I'm excited. The Capitol will be waiting for extraordinary statements from the pair, so it's a bunch of pressure.

That's not the only thing on my mind though. The rebellion is coming soon. I'm part of it, so it's a big deal. I need to make my imprint on the Capitol. I need to create an outfit so rebellious and out-of-line that they'll shut off the televisions and capture me right then and there. Of course I'm not hoping for this, but that's the level it needs to be at.

I'm staring at my notebook, when the door cracks open. Inside walks Effie.

"How are you?" she says, the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.

"I'm managing," I tell her.

She leans over the desk and takes a look at the blank page I've been stumped on. "I see," she says, pursing her lips. "Do you need some help?"

I don't know how to answer her. I look up from my notebook and meet her eyes. "I don't know," is the best answer I can come up with.

"Alright," she says. "Maybe you should take a break."

I look up at her again and see there is a bit of a dark look in her eyes. She's lowered her head and is looking at the floor.

I won't lie. When I was fifteen years old, the only guy in designing classes at my high school, I realized I was gay. I never really thought about girls in the first place, which was weird to many of my friends. They always asked me if I liked someone and if I thought this one girl was hot and were so surprised when I said no. I was so driven in high school, I just never thought about liking anyone.

It wasn't until a new boy moved into our area and took up designing that I looked at anyone in that way. He was perfect. Great hair, stylish clothing, and a very talented designer. I envied and liked him at the same time. He immediately singled me out to get to know. We were each other's competition. And soon, we tore down that wall of competition and admitted to each other that we had feelings between us.

Very soon, we were a couple, an item. Things happened between us and our relationship grew stronger. We began our professional careers and then the rebellion came along. He was pro-Capitol and I was for the rebellion. That's what broke us apart. He went his separate way and I was crushed inside.

Almost two years ago, I was approached by Melanie Donner-Undersee, the Mayor of District 12's wife. She was an active member of the rebellion and I was willing to do anything to help her. So she asked me to design for District 12 in the Hunger Games. It was considered done and done. The previous year's designer had completely failed. I wasn't sure if they were fired or if they quit. Either way, they were gone and I was hired immediately.

In the process of becoming the stylist for Katniss, I met her mentor, Haymitch Abernathy, and their escort, Effie Trinket. She stands in front of me now, awkwardly. Poor Effie must have been lonely, because I could immediately tell she had a thing for me. It was slightly odd, considering I've never had feelings for any woman. I was still in love with a man.

I think she still has feelings for me now. It's obvious by the way she looks at me. It's the same way I looked at my love. There's no difference between the two. I want to make her happy, but there's no way for me to do something without changing myself. I know that she must respect that.

"Thanks," I say, "but I'm fine."

She nods and leaves the room. As she turns, a vision comes to mind of a dress, a burning dress, a magical statement. Only this time, it's not fire. It's a mockingjay. I start sketching.

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A/N: Ok. I won't lie. Cinna/Effie was extremely difficult to write because I had always pictured Cinna as being a really good-looking gay guy (there are a lot of those, aren't there? :) ) I'm sorry that my two stories today turned out gay :\ haha I don't usually write those kinds of pairings, but there you go. Another side of my writing. Hope you liked.


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